Girls soccer: Maria Dee scores four goals, including the game-winner in the final minute, to lift Elyria Catholic past Oberlin

OBERLIN — A hat trick and a tie weren't enough for Maria Dee or Elyria Catholic. The Panthers were heading for a tie with Oberlin in the final minute when Dee took a beautiful cross from Gabriella Rodriguez and scored her fourth goal to steal a 5-4 victory for the Panthers on Saturday afternoon. "I really wanted this win for me and my team," Dee said. "I wanted them to be behind me the whole time and I'm really happy we gave it to our last second. I felt great today. I wanted to put all of myself out there and work hard for my team and my coaches. I'm really happy with how the outcome came." The teams engaged in a back-and-forth affair with Oberlin taking the lead twice in the first half, only for Elyria Catholic to answer both times and take the lead going into halftime. The Panthers led twice in the second half, but the Phoenix fought back to tie it both times before Dee saved the day for EC. Oberlin (5-2-1) outshot Elyria Catholic 10-8 in the first half with nine on goal. It struck three minutes into the game when Kylie Walter headed in a corner kick from Ruby Schaeffer. Dee answered with her first goal four minutes later. Walter assisted on Oberlin's second goal, setting up Karen Regalado Martinez with a beautiful point-blank look in the middle of the box that Martinez easily finished, but Dee again answered 13 minutes later. "The through balls were great today," Walter said. "We were right there when the ball was crossed and our passes are crisp. I think we play so well together and I'm going to miss (Martinez) next year." Elyria Catholic (3-7-1) took its first lead in the final two minutes of the first half when Trinity Metzinger finished a corner kick from Katerina Steindl. Martinez had the answer both times for Oberlin. She broke away from the Panthers defense in the 50th minute, burying a one-on-one to tie the game at 3. Dee secured her hat trick 18 minutes later, showing off her own elite speed in the middle of the field to get behind the Phoenix defense and bury the look. But the Panthers again let their guard down as Martinez burned them three minutes later to get her own hat trick and tie the game at 4 with 9:16 left. "Karen brings a different energy to our offense," Oberlin coach Ben Eiskamp said. "With her energy, everybody feeds off of the things that she does. She looks for them well and it makes us a great team." Both teams unleashed a furry of shots in the final nine minutes with Oberlin getting three strong attempts in a row — two by Walter and one by Martinez — that were all saved by Panthers goalkeeper Addie Roth, including a diving attempt on what looked to be a sure-fire goal from Martinez. The Panthers set up Dee twice with great looks, one on a long free kick and the other giving her a one-on-one with keeper Michaela Streator, who blocked both attempts. Elyria Catholic finally broke through when Rodriguez took a through ball and tore down the right sideline, then found Dee trailing in the middle of the box. "We've been working so hard this entire season," Elyria Catholic coach Jose Medina Perez said. "I told the girls, 'let's go hard. I don't care if we're down or up, we keep doing our thing.' That's it. It seems like it worked." Contact Chris Sweeney at (440) 329-7135 or ctsports@chroniclet.com and follow him @CSweeney1686 on X. Elyria Catholic 5, Oberlin 4 GOALS: (EC) Maria Dee (7th, 23rd, 63rd and 80th minutes) Trinity Metzinger (39th minute); (O) Kylie Walter (3rd minute), Karen Regalado Martinez (10th, 50th and 71st minutes) ASSISTS: (EC) Reagan Hutsenpiller, Katerina Steindl, Gabriella Rodriguez; (O) Ruby Schaeffer, Walter SHOTS: Elyria Catholic 18, Oberlin 25 SHOTS ON GOAL: Elyria Catholic 13, Oberlin 18 SAVES: (EC) Addie Roth 14, (O) Michaela Streator 8 FOULS: Elyria Catholic 5, Oberlin 4 YELLOW CARDS: Elyria Catholic 1, Oberlin 1 CORNER KICKS: Elyria Catholic 3, Oberlin 2 FREE KICKS: Elyria Catholic 4, Oberlin 5 GOAL KICKS: Elyria Catholic 11, Oberlin 8 HALFTIME: Elyria Catholic, 3-2